Deadliest snakes 'may be lifesavers'

March 1, 2006 — 5.59am

Some of the world's deadliest snakes may turn out to be lifesavers as well as killers, Australian scientists have discovered.

A blood-clotting protein found in the venom of nine snakes, including the taipan and the tiger snake, can be used to stop excessive bleeding during surgery and major trauma, the team of Brisbane based researchers announced.

The inland taipan is considered to be the world's most venomous land snake.

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Molecular biologist Liam St Pierre, a member of the team working to develop an artificial drug to stem blood flow in seconds, said he had cracked the genetic code of the protein, dubbed Factor X.

"We are looking at the gene responsible for coding the toxin to develop an artificial form which would be a lot cheaper and quicker to produce than isolating and milking a snake - as well as a lot safer," he said.

Dr St Pierre, from Queensland University of Technology's School of Life Sciences, said the coastal and inland taipan and the common brown were the most suitable snakes for the development of the potential drug.

The red bellied black, the rough scaled, the Stephens banded as well as the tiger snake were among those studied that also featured Factor X.

"The coastal and inland taipan and the common brown are closely related and have more of the molecule in their venom than the other snakes," he said.

He said the venom was part of a "two-pronged attack" when they bit their prey.

"Firstly, venom injection causes massive blood clots instantaneously followed by paralysis as a result of neurotoxins which eventually immobilise and kill the victim," Dr St Pierre said.

The study, designed to determine the snakes' potential for therapeutic drugs, is an Australian first, he said.

"No one has ever tried to do a comprehensive analysis of the venom of Australian snakes on a molecular level before - they have evolved specifically to target the systems of mammals and this makes them a unique source for potential therapeutic drugs," he said.

"They target particular systems, such as the cardiovascular system and the nervous system, and we want to do more work on the toxins to look at how they affect humans and how we could manipulate them."